Re: Gears of War movie now in production
- From: "ksdj1@xxxxxxxxx" <ksdj1@xxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 27 Jul 2009 13:56:16 -0700 (PDT)
On Jul 26, 7:04 pm, "Tom" <no...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
http://movies.ign.com/articles/100/1007578p1.html
SDCC 09: Gears of War Movie Churning
The Rock a no-go, but bad-ass female soldiers a near certainty.
by Hilary Goldstein
July 26, 2009 - Director Len Wiseman (Live Free or Die Hard) and writer
Chris Morgan (Wanted) appeared at Epic Games' Gears of War panel to
discussing the upcoming feature film based on the popular videogame
franchise. It was clear by the end of the hour-long panel that production on
the Gears of War feature film was in the earliest stages. In fact, there's
been no casting and there were no production stills or conceptual art to
offer. Still, Wiseman and Morgan spoke about their philosophy regarding the
movie and the director dispelled a recent Internet rumor regarding casting
of the lead role.
Despite what some may want to suggest, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is not
being considered for Gears of War. "A Doom connection would not be smart for
us," Wiseman said bluntly. He spent a few minutes explaining his philosophy
on finding a good action star and in the process slagged The Rock. Wiseman
stated that the way to find the right person to play the lead role of Marcus
Fenix is not to "throw a bunch of strongmen into the ring and see who comes
out victorious. I'm looking for an actor for the role and then [I'll] put
him into shape." He added, "I'm always thinking who could play the best
Marcus. You want to get hooked into the character [first] and then all the
amazing spectacle."
While Wiseman nixed the idea of The Rock in Gears of War, he did agree to
one speculative bit of casting. When asked about who might play the part of
Maria, the doomed wife of second-in-command Dominic Santiago, Wiseman had
one actress at the top of his wishlist. "If I can convince [Kate
Beckinsale]--and I think I have a shot-- I'd love to see that."
The plot of Gears of War won't strictly follow that of the games. Writer
Chris Morgan told the crowd that "Emergence Day is making its way into the
film. That will be big." For those unfamiliar with the Gears of War games,
Emergence Day is when the enemy Locusts rose from underground, revealing
themselves to the human occupants of the planet Sera. The Gears games take
place long after Emergence Day and so it is something no one has seen fully
realized.
Wiseman promised to respect the game's backstory, but admitted that his
first job is to create a compelling movie, not appease gamers. The game's
executive producer, Rod Ferguson, agreed that changes were necessary in
order to avoid the mistakes of past videogame adaptations. "You can be too
tied to what is the game," Ferguson said. "We're so oriented at grabbing the
gaming audience, we don't leave behind what shouldn't be in the movie. Were'
about making the best movie possible, not about making Gears of War the game
into a movie. previous movies haven't been willing to let go. We had only
three pages [of notes for Wiseman]. 'Please don't kill Marcus.'" Epic Games
gave Wiseman and Morgan "basic stuff that are important to us" but otherwise
asked that they "make the best movie possible that fits your medium."
One potential change is the addition of female COGs (the elite military
soldiers in Gears of War). In the two Gears games we see only male COGs on
the field of battle. "I'd love to see it happen," Wiseman said when asked..
"I'm a big supporter of that."
The biggest concern is the tone of the film. Too often film adaptations of
videogames are one-dimensional, childish and disrespectful to movie
audiences. Wiseman gets that. "The tone of the characters and how they
interact with each other [lends to] the overall experience of the movie.
Look at Aliens in terms of the dark environment, but then how much fun you
have with the characters."
"Even though the world is literally at an end," Morgan added, "they still
joke. They have real emotion and compassion."
The other concern with a big budget action film is having the story and
characters get lost in the special effects. The Gears of War games are
largely about these massive action set pieces and are less known for
gripping narrative. "It's a balance," Wiseman said. "I approach it from
story and character first. The spectacle is going to be there.but that's not
what I care about first. I really want to see all that [action] but [only]
if you're onboard with who's taking you through that spectacle."
Gears of War has a long way to go before it reaches theatres and Wiseman is
already feeling the pressure. "There's so much opinion out there about what
this movie should be and shouldn't be, it falls on a very small group of
people. and I'm one of those people. Are you going to respect the game? Of
course I am. It is a different experience from watching a movie, but it's my
job of translating it into the best cinematic story [possible]."
I could watch Kate Beckinsale butter bread and be satisfied.
Thank God the Rock isn't being considered, the dude can't act his way
out of a paper bag.
I think the director should really consider an actor who can act
without saying lines. Gears has that stoic silence strength vibe,
you'll need lots of Clint Eastwood 'type' closeups.
.
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